Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar and NBA icon, Magic Johnson, has made a smooth transition from hooping to business. The five-time NBA champion has built a billion-dollar fortune since hanging up his boots. However, he hasn’t done this all alone. Like many of his predecessors, Johnson has also taken help from the right people at the right time. But while creating this massive business empire, he might’ve broken an unspoken rule in professional basketball.

Recently, while chatting with the hosts of the ‘Earn Your Leisure‘, Magic Johnson recalled how his road to abundant financial success started off. Well, as it turns out, the former Purple & Gold guard started plotting his next move while he was still playing in the NBA. But whom did he turn to for some guidance? Surprisingly, Johnson decided not to ask his veteran teammates; instead, he asked former Lakers owner Jerry Buss himself to show him the path to wealth creation.

“Look, I was curious, man. I knew I wanted to be a businessman, but I had to get up under somebody who was already doing it and so he could give me knowledge. So, it happened to be the owner of the Lakers, Dr. Jerry Buss. And I told him my dream after I was done winning championships with him. I wanted to uh own businesses.” Johnson revealed. While you might think that there’s nothing wrong with hanging out with the team’s owner for some business advice, that’s not what the NBA players feel.

You see, when Magic’s teammates noticed that he was spending a lot of time with Mr. Buss, they called him in and reminded him about the unspoken rule in basketball. “I’m coming into the locker room, and the guy said, ‘Earvin, we’ve got to talk to you.’ I said, ‘Okay, what’s going on?’ I thought we were going to talk about Larry Bird and the Celtics or something. How are we going to defend him or something? They said, ‘No, you can’t be hanging around the owner no more. It’s an unwritten rule that players can’t hang out with the owner,” he said.

His teammates reminded Johnson that spending time with the owner isn’t viewed in a positive light. Johnson then knew that he had broken an unspoken rule by hanging out with the owner, despite his teammates trying to stop him from going any further. He replied, “So I took my time ’cause I’m never going to react first. I said, ‘What can I say?’ Hm. I said, ‘Okay, you guys are millionaires. He is a billionaire. I’m hanging out with the billionaire.’” The point guard suggested that he wanted to make big money and wasn’t going to stop.

Johnson’s argument was simple for breaking the hanging out with the owner rule: why should he not do that, given that Buss could help him become successful in life after basketball? As expected, this did not sit right with his teammates, but that did not bother the six-foot-nine guard as he continued to hang out with Dr. Buss. Well, after all, this unspoken rule was seemingly put in place to stop players from building relationships with the owners and use it to their advantage on the court, or even against their teammates.

However, Johnson did not do any of those things; instead, he just wanted advice on wealth creation and how to run a business. Now, this begs the question: Did upsetting his teammates pay off for Magic Johnson? Well, yes.

Magic Johnson used that knowledge to fuel his business empire

There’s no doubt that the Magic Johnson Lakers teammates would not have appreciated him ignoring their advice. However, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the point guard is having the last laugh. Based on some recently reported data, the former Purple & Gold superstar is worth a whopping $1.5 billion. This not only places him above all of his L.A. teammates from that time, but Johnson is only second to Michael Jordan, who has amassed a total worth of $3.8 billion.

A huge portion of Magic’s insane fortune seemingly comes from his majority ownership of Equitrust, a life insurance company. Apart from that, the former first overall pick also has stakes in several sports franchises, such as MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, whom he recently paid a visit to with his wife, and WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, among a few others. However, the veteran’s portfolio is limited to just insurance and sports, as he has also invested his dollars in several other businesses.

You might be surprised to know that Magic’s diverse business investments range all the way from the world-famous coffee chain Starbucks to real estate, movie theaters, and more. It’s safe to say that all the knowledge he gained from Jerry Buss during his time in Southern California helped Johnson big time, as he created a business empire from scratch, which isn’t something everyone can pull off. While his decision might’ve caused a rift between him and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates, surely Johnson has no regrets for his actions today.